Dani's House

Dani's House
Series 2 & 3 titlecard for the show.
Format	children's show
Created by	Paul Rose Gary Parker Emma Ko
Starring	Dani Harmer Harry Culverhouse James Gandhi Darragh Mortell (2009–2012) Steff White (2011–2012) Millie Ines (2011–2012) Sebastian Applewhite (2008–12) Klariza Clayton (2008–11, 12) Lewis Rainer (2012)
Opening theme	"Free" by Dani Harmer.
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	65 (List of Dani's House episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Paul McKenzie Jemma Rodgers Lucy Robinson Jo Willett
Running time	30mins
Broadcast
Original channel	CBBC BBC Two BBC One ABC3
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original run	26 September 2008 (2008-09-26) – 19 July 2012 (2012-07-19)
Chronology
Followed by	Dani's Castle 2013–2014

Dani's House is a British BAFTA-nominated children's sitcom series that aired on CBBC, starring Dani Harmer.^[1][2] The first series premiered on 26 September 2008, and its fifth series concluded on 19 July 2012.

Production

In early 2008, the BBC announced a new 13 episode children’s sitcom, starring Dani Harmer.

The first series was filmed throughout June and July 2008, entirely in Kent at a secret location near Maidstone. The series began airing on 26 September. Due to the show's popularity, a second series was ordered, and was filmed in early summer 2009, this time in Edinburgh. It aired from December of the same year. A third series was filmed the following summer in 2010, and aired from September to December of the same year. A fourth series was filmed in the summer of 2011, and aired from September to December of that year. The fifth and final series was filmed from November 2011 to February 2012 and aired from 26 April through to 19 July.

Plot

Dani Harmer plays the leading character, a young actress/singer continually left in charge of her younger brother Max, his idiotic sidekick Ben and their youngest sibling, "the baby from hell" (only used in series 1). As she cannot go out with her friends, Toby (later replaced by Jack) and Sam (later replaced by Ruby), the trio end up spending most of their time in Dani's house in a den hang-out. The show revolves around the common problems, adventures and trials that most people face, but often with bizarre causes, happenings and endings. the actors of Toby and Dani also play the parts of two aliens watching Dani's House from space. The aliens; Co-ordinaters ^[3] and ^[4] appear at Dani's House but this is generally in the last few series.

In the second series, Jack is introduced and replaces Toby as a regular character and best friend of Dani. The house that was used in series one is not used in series two, due to the fact that Dani's family moved houses in the final episode. The "baby from hell" from series one is also not seen or mentioned in the second series and is supposedly replaced by the "cat from hell" who frequently comes into various episodes. Most of the changes in series two remain in series three and four.

Series four of the show premiered on CBBC on Friday 16 September 2011. This series sees Dani get a part in a fictional soap opera 'McHurties Hospital.' References to this are made throughout the series. Sam trains to be a NASA astronaut and eventually leaves in episode 8, going on to become a scientist and space-explorer for NASA. 'Ruby', Dani's enthusiastic personal trainer and 'Maisy', her prank-pulling younger sister replaces Sam, with Ruby going on to become Dani's good friend and Maisy the ultimate rival for Max. Like series 3, the 'cat from hell' is neither seen nor mentioned in this series.

Series 5 of the show was first broadcast on weekdays at 1:20 pm in a "soft" launch; however, the official premiere was on 26 April 2012. In the fifth series, Max finds success as a rapper/singer and is now on a world tour, therefore is not a cast member – even though he still appears in the opening credits, which are the same credits as the fourth series. Max has been replaced by Megaboyd, their cousin, who appears regularly throughout the series. Alex, a new character, is also a recurring cast member who stars as Dani's new boyfriend. Plots in the fifth series include Alex and Dani dating, Max's new world success, Ben wanting to find a new friend and new hobbies, Megaboyd and Maisy playing pranks on Dani and her mates, and Dani's, Jack's and Ruby's jobs as actress, DJ and personal trainer.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main characters

Dani Harmer (Dani Harmer) 2008 – 2012: Dani is a 17-year-old actress and singer (she is 21 in series 5) who has to look after her 12-year-old brother Max, and 6-month-old baby brother. The baby brother is never directly shown in the show, nor are Dani's parents. She regularly hangs out with her two best friends (Sam and Toby, later Sam and Jack, and later Jack and Ruby). Dani is involved in a constant feud with her little brother Max, who is always trying to annoy and embarrass her. In the fourth series, Dani is seen playing the part of 'Nurse Emily Woodmagnet' in a TV drama series called McHurties Hospital.

Jack (Darragh Mortell) 2009–2012: Jack is Dani's best friend and a DJ. Jack likes eating, especially junk food, with his favourite being doughnuts. Jack appears in series 2 episode 1 "Jack in the House". Being a DJ, Jack regularly plays at gigs, 4–5-year old's parties and occasionally competitions. At one point he was given an acting role in the same T.V. drama as Dani, much to her annoyance.

Ben (James Gandhi) 2008–2012: Ben is Max's best friend and sidekick, who spends a lot of time at Dani's house. Despite having limited intelligence, he tends to think up most of the evil plans that he and Max get up to (although Max always claims credit for them). Despite their friendship, Ben is often treated badly by Max. An exception to this is when Ben's pet (axolotl) dies, and Max, feeling sorry for Ben, prepares a funeral. Ben did not appear in Series 3 Episode 3 (Grandad and the emo of Doom) as he was not available for filming. In series 4, he is shown to be more intelligent and more capable of going solo, as Max does not star in many of the same episodes.

Coordinators Zang and Zark (Harry Culverhouse and Dani Harmer) 2008–2012: These two are green aliens who are travelling together across the universe. They are supposedly on a secret mission to discover more about the human race, but in fact this is just an excuse to sit about and watch "Dani's House". They are heavily influenced by the programme, and often attempt to copy what they see, with comic results.

Ruby (Steff White) 2011–2012 was Introduced in Series 4, Episode 6. Ruby, at first, is Dani`s energetic personal fitness trainer, who later becomes good friends with her and begins to regularly visit the house (taking Sam's place, who was written out of the show not long after Ruby's arrival). She has a younger sister called Maisy, who like Max, is extremely mischievous.

Maisy (Millie Innes) 2011–2012 was introduced in Episode 6 of the fourth series. Maisy is the younger sister of Ruby. She has very similar ideas to Dani's brother Max, and the two share a fierce rivalry.

Sam (Klariza Clayton) 2008 – 2010, 2011 & 2012: Sam is Dani's best friend and a science geek who spends most of her time at the village library. She was introduced in series 1, episode 1. She is shown to be very clever with and likes everything to be neat and tidy. Her idol is Professor Brian Cox, and she can not stand anyone that criticises him. In series 4 it is revealed that she plans to train as an astronaut for N.A.S.A. and she subsequently leaves the show. In the series finale she returns for Dani's birthday. She also makes a one-off appearance in the spin off programme Dani's Castle.

Max (Sebastian Applewhite) 2008 – 2011, 2012: Max is constantly plotting to rule the world (and annoy his sister); he is the brother of Dani. His lifetime ambition is to become a millionaire, along with his less-intelligent friend, Ben. Ben usually serves the purpose of Max's slave or partner in crime. In series 5 Max becomes a grime star and goes on world tour, He doesn't appear personally until Dani's party.

Toby (Harry Culverhouse) 2008, 2010 & 2012: Toby is a friend of Dani's that is shown to have low intelligence and an obsession with his hair, which he continuously spikes up with hair gel. During series 1, he is shown to have a large amount of jobs ranging from a waiter to a pet-sitter. He gets along well with Ben, Max's friend. It is revealed in series 2, episode 1 that he left for medical school but appeared in 'Scrooge Tube'. He has obviously returned before as he seems to know Jack and even has a unique handshake with him. He appeared in the final episode of Series 5 coming to Dani's party.

Awards and nominations

Dani's House has been nominated for and won the following awards:

Ratings

International Broadcast

Country	Network(s)	Notes
United Kingdom	BBC One CBBC	Series 1-5 have aired
Australia	ABC3	Series 1-5 have aired
Ireland	TRTÉ	Series 1-3 have aired, Series 4-5 have not aired

Spin Off Show

Dani's Castle is a similar show to Dani's House - but she inherits a castle in Northern Ireland from her deceased Aunt Marjorie. The first series aired in January 2013, and the second series is currently airing.

References

External links

• Dani's House at BBC Programmes
• Dani's House at the Internet Movie Database